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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. deal — to handle
  4. cold — not warm
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. prune — to trim
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. wax — to grow
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. last — finally
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. prune — to trim
  14. cold — an illness
  15. lean — to bend
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. last — to go on
  18. plane — a tool
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. lean — thin
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. last — final

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com